Euthanasia

Michael McConnell AP Language & Composition Argumentative Essay 00 Who is allowed to play god? Imagine a cold metal slab in a hospital. Imagine the most excruciating pain you have ever been in, in your entire life. Now, put both of those feelings together and add the setting of a lonely hospital room where not even your family cares to visit you. This is the feeling that many people feel everyday around the world. Not everyone wants to stay alive through the pain and suffering of terminal cancers. “If the cancer is going to kill me, then why cant I just have it just be ended for me. I can’t stand the pain anymore.” Claudia told her doctors about how miserable she was, she wanted to just curl up and die. In America we have always questioned if something is moral, if something would be considered ethical and more importantly, what line defines life and death as immoral and moral. Euthanasia is commonly referred to as Assisted Suicide because the patient in question wants to end their life, but they want to do it by uniform means, in the safety of a hospital; painlessly. Doctors always quiver in America when a patient even brings up the topic of Euthanasia. Dr. Jack Kevorkian lost his license in 1999 for helping several of his patients “seek peace.” He was convicted with second degree murder. The lines have not been boldly blasted and concretely etched as to what is murder; the courts today still are baffled as to what to define as ethical; abortion, and Euthanasia being two Grey Area topics. Legally, no, euthanasia is not murder, however, ethically it is. No human has the right to play god, not even doctors, at least…not yet. A patient should have the right to choose their own fate if and only if they meet a preset list of criteria. Euthanasia should be monitored, and checked by a board just like organ transplants. Euthanasia, or assisted suicide, has been deemed another way to kill a person, a very sick person. Many lawyers against the procedure would argue that the patient is not in their right state of mind and therefore does not have the right to decide whether or not to take their own life. Religious leaders also agree that it is sinful, and immoral for anyone to take their own life. All creatures, according to religion,

have a predestined time to die, and no person, or medication has the right to take that predestination away. Life is precious. Life is a gift from god, Allah, Yahweh, whatever you call your maker all religions have decided that life is not a privilege it’s a right. No matter a person’s circumstance, they can be drugged to numb the pain, remove depression, and even make themselves artificially happy. In essence, thanks to the miracles of chemistry, we don’t have to know that our body is slowly and painfully shutting down. “If you can’t take the heat get out of the kitchen” or perhaps more politically correct “if you can’t take the pain HAVE SOME MORE DRUGS!!” Euthanasia is not a right or a privilege if life is truly precious. Nobody has the right to take another persons life, no matter the circumstance. At least, that is what the critics of Euthanasia believe. Why not? If a person is truly in pain, and they truly do not want to endure the painful toils of their own everyday lives. And the cancer has just become too much, why can’t we just help them end their suffering, in a clean, painless way? “You’re killing them!” No, no you are not killing them. Their illness is killing them. It is the responsibility of the patient’s doctor to do the best for their patient, what if that patient is doomed to die anyway? Cancer is a tricky topic to cross. It is the one loophole in all ethical medical practices. Many countries have decided that if the patient is in so much pain that they cannot endure it even with medication, then they may opt for euthanization. The doctors have realized that the a quick end means the best for their patient. A DNR order is similar to this process; however, it is more painful because the doctors just watch their patient die. If a patient truly wants to be “put down” to take away their suffering, anyone with half a conscience would not stand in their way. Would you truly enjoy seeing your wife in pain, and knowing the doctors could do nothing to help her? No. If your wife truly wanted to be at peace, there is no person that would let their suffering be prolonged. Doctors should have the option to ease their patients suffering even if it means permanently.

Euthanasia should be legalized. It is the best option for terminal patients in chronic, unbearable pain. No one should stand in the patient, or the doctor’s way. Are they playing god you may ask. The question can be argued either way, but no, they are not, and they are not deciding who lives and who dies. Instead they are assisting a patient in need, and fulfilling a final request. The job of a doctor is to make sure that their patient is comfortable. Imagine being alone, cold and in pain, or remember your wife in the hospital…Would you have the heart to tell her no? I didn’t think so.